Hey everyone, I'm Jake, it's Friday, let's get to the news then get to the weekend . . .

General Motors has put vice chairman Steve Girsky in charge of its European operations. He will serve as acting head while it seeks a permanent replacement.

Girsky has been in Germany since November as head of the Opel supervisory board, working to turn around the money-losing operation.

We wish him the best of luck, especially with recession clouds forming over Europe.

The chairman of Italian sportscar maker De Tomaso, Gian Mario Rossignolo and two other men were arrested during a probe into misuse of public funds. The cash was part of a plan to revive production of the brand at a plant near Turin, Italy.

Police said that investigators believe the managers used a false bank guarantee to receive the funds and that some of that money went into the three men's bank accounts.

Che cosa stanno pensando!

The U.S. Army is ending its decade-long sponsorship of a NASCAR team. U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum says the National Guard told her its sponsorship deal has brought in 24,800 recruits, but only 20 were actually qualified to serve. And of that group, zero joined.

The Army has spent $20 million over the past few years, which seems like a lot, but with a total budget of about $800 billion, you'd think it would hardly notice. I mean, come on, they spend more than that on toilet seats and flag pins . . .

That's it for today. Get out and enjoy the heat this weekend, keep it between the lines, and hit those apexes hard. Enjoy the drive.